2 1/2 days in NYC what must I not miss seeing
 

The wife and I are flying from Australia to Canada to surprise an old friend for his 60th birthday in late July,we are on a tight schedule due to my wife's work but we will be able to squeeze in 2 1/2 days in NYC before we fly up to Toronto.
Excluding the obvious stuff are ther any secret places we have to see or awesome places we must eat at.

1 World Trade Center-9/11 Memorial & Museum
Empire State Bldg
Broadway Show
Walk Central Park
Statue of Liberty
Many, many other things to see/do
From Battery Park to Central Park the distance is five miles and Long Island is 2.5 miles wide; walkable mostly. Get one of those maps from the hotel that depict surface streets with subway as well. The NYC system is very user friendly. Have fun!

My sincere apology...you asked for "secret" places. I must defer to any locals....I'd like to know as well.

I always hit the art museums and the American Museum of Natural History. Maybe a Broadway show, if any of them look good. You might also check for sports events and concerts on the days you'll be there.

My restaurant list would include something world class that I couldn't get elsewhere. I'd try to get into one or more of these:

Le Bernardin
Per Se
Babbo

All of these will take serious money and you want to get a reservation now, if possible. Figure that you won't get a table anywhere decent if you wait until you get there to make the reservation.

There's a million other places to eat. I'd just research it online. Avoid the lists compiled by bloggers, food critics and the NY times. Stick with the list from Michelin, Zagat, etc. as they will be more consistent and not favor the "newest is best' sort of mindset. A 5 second search turned this up:

Zagat, Michelin Best Restaurants In New York City - Business Insider

There are others...

JR

I see you have a plane as an avatar (maybe a P3 Orion?) so you will probably enjoy a visit to the Intrepid museum.

http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/The-In...sintrepid.aspx

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

I'm in NYC about 4 times a year. If you want a tourist experience outside of the theater visit, then the 1st list will suffice.

I go to the museums if there's a specific exhibit but otherwise I prefer the galleries in Soho or Chelsea.

If you want to walk around, try the highline. You can get on/off and have small New York experiences as you go.

For restaurants, there are a million but from my last trip, I had a great time at LA ESQUINA and BALTHAZAR. You'll need reservations sooner than later. For drinks, the Crosby bar is great and the jimmy at the James.

A high light of my one and only trip to NYC was taking an express subway ride. Don't remember exactly where we were when we started but we ended up near the big art museum. That ride was the closest thing to an 'E' ticket Disneyland ride I'd ever been on.

The High Line (The High Line | Friends of the High Line) is a very pleasant elevated park, although I'm not sure I'd classify it as a must see.

Not knowing your tastes makes it tough to call. But a walk through Soho will give you a good taste of NY life that is not exactly tourist oriented. The Hayden planetarium is a good way to spend a couple of hours especially if the weather isn't great. If you like jazz there are some good places on 52nd street. You can just cruise the street and see what catches your eye. You may want to take a quick run to the Queensboro (59th st) bridge for an iconic photo op. The fountain at Lincoln Center is another photo op but is also just a short walk from Columbus Circle and Central Park.

Jim is correct, it is not a must do. I guess that my taste runs a little different since I try to enjoy what the locals do.

The Staten Island ferry is free and the view coming back towards the city is priceless,

Erroneous. LI is about 118 miles long and 20 miles wide in most parts. You must be thinking of something else. It's walkable if you have months or years.

+1

I live 30 minutes from NYC and often work in the city. One thing I always do when in the neighborhood is visit Grand Central Station.. go inside and look up...the ceiling is amazing. You can also get some good eats at Grand Central.. The Oyster Bar..

I think the best way to see the Statue of Liberty is take the Staten Island Ferry, the ferry ride give a much better perspective of the statue than being on Liberty Island, and you cant beat the price ;)


Try some NYC Pizza.... go to the source, the origin.. Lombardis in the Village..... Pastys is great also.

After your pizza.... you might feel like beer or two... Head over to E 6th St and go to McSorleys Ale House... in business since 1854.. They have two kinds of beer, light and dark.....

If you want to try some god Chinese food.... try Xi'an Famous, there are 4 locations in Manhattan..

There is just so much to see and do..

I think he meant Manhattan.

Ok, just didn't want to later read about his telling a cabbie to drop him off in the Hamptons, thinking he'd walk back to his hotel downtown.

Hopefully, he'll take lots of pictures in his way back to the city.

* May miss the plane.

I'd agree with other posters that getting onto the Hudson and NY Harbor is a memorable way to see the city. Staten Island Ferry is the low cost option for sure. A little more classy choice IMO would be these folks: New York City Sailing, Boat Tours, and Private Charters on Schooner Adirondack, Yacht Manhattan, and Schooner America 2.0 (NYC,

If you are up to it physically, you can rent one of the Citibikes and pedal along the westside on the bikeway.

If your budget permits, I'd recommend an NYC fine dining experience too. Java dog mentioned some classics. You could also check out Daniel, or 11 Madison Park. A slightly less expensive place (not "fine dining") that is unique: Pure Food and Wine | One Lucky Duck. Their thing is raw food. It's very good, but I suppose not for everyone. They do have a very nice courtyard for al fresco dining.

Have a sandwich of your choice at a good Manhattan deli.

Take a walk through the inside of Grand Central and have some clam chowder at the Oyster Bar.

pastrami sandwich at katz's on houston st.
hot dog at papaya king on 3rd ave and 86th st.
for a fancy sit down mexican meal at one of new yorks most respected places, el parador cafe on east 34th st.
heidelberg on 2nd ave. at 85th st for a great german meal. make sure you get the red cabbage.
food shopping at zabars on broadway at 80th st. or the essex street retail market near chinatown. don't miss chinatown, or little italy either.

stay away from the tourist traps on west 57th st. (hard rock, planet hollywood, etc.

have a great time and don't play three card monte with the locals!

OH OH OH the Carnegie Deli!!

I agree. We did both of those when we visited and enjoyed them a great deal. We went everywhere on the subway or walked. That was an experience in itself. We also went to Times Square/Broadway and then Lincoln Center to see the Christmas tree and watched the Nutcracker (we went around Christmas).

Thank you all so much, the replies so far have been fantastic and I have learnt a great deal

It's a C130 in my Avatar but I have flown both C130 and P3 Orion as a Flight Engineer. Thanks for the reminder on the Intrepid Museum I had read about it but it had slipped my mind

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1388967558.jpg

Carnegie Deli cheesecake. Pastrami is equally huge. Pardon the fool eating it!

Take the self walking audio tour of Grand Central, about an hour and well worth it. Not expensive at all, a few $

If you visit the MET Museum or the Natural History Museum or the Brooklyn Art Museum, remember the (expensive) entrance fee is suggested as these are all public museums. You can give them a buck or less. Many interesting shops and restaurants in Williamsburg Brooklyn.
Have fun. I miss THE CITY.

Seriously?? these are World Class Museums... and to suggest stiffing them...

The Louvre is similarly priced... pay a dollar or less to get in there?

OK... Back to helping out someone visiting NYC....

The Intrepid Museum is neat... however you have probably seen a lot of that machinery before... with the exception of a Space Shuttle and Blackbird.....

And also not all tourist traps are traps!! i.e. Top of the Rock.. you get to look at the Empire State Building and Skyline from a different perspective....might be a bit of a line... but....

If you want an incredible view of lower Manhattan... make your way over to Brooklyn Heights... go to the promenade.... find a bench... and chill wait for the sun to start to set....

And there are very good places to eat as well as amazing old brownstones in Brooklyn Heights.. Dan mentioned Williamsburg.... It used to be a crime ridden crack whore infested dump... Now some pricey real estate.... many good restaurants...artsy...

Check Teddys (Peter Doelgers) on Berry St.... its located at an old brew haus.. funky vibe.. and just around the corner is the Brooklyn Brewery..

And definitely go to Times Square.. just for the WOW factor....I pass through a few times a year and every time I shake my head at the sensory overload....Perhaps your wife can get a picture with the Naked Cowboy..

Finally for this installation.... Just a few blocks walking from Times Square... you can be in Little Korea (Koreatown) .... BBQ restaurants... bipimbap Kimchee... you would think you were in Seoul... on 32nd St..

Yes

Secrets of Grand Central

Catch a Yankees game if their in town.

Correct, I meant Manhattan only. My apology.

here. now you can cross off grant's tomb.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1389022027.jpg

We took the Grey Line bus tour and enjoyed it. We saw a ton of stuff. Had a lot of history explained to us. Could get on and off as we wanted. So much to see and do and it all depends what you like. Not sure if it would be as great in the winter.

Gray Line New York Sightseeing Tours, Cruises & Attractions

Food we liked was 3rd ave deli.
Orso

9/11 area, Battery Park, Central Park, St. Patrick's cCathedral, Times Square, Trinity church by Wall Street, Empire State Building... It is endless.

Was going to also suggest the Interpid. Went there last fall (as well as the Ground Zero site and the new Freedom Tower - as close as I could get anyway). The Enterprise exhibit is awesome. Go see it.

Was there for a week in nov with the fam. Get some discount theatre tickes form tkts.com. They have a seaport location that opens earlier than the one at time sq. Go to the met, to do it justice will take you some time.

Whatever you do, don't take The Circle Line. its the Amtrak of boat rides..

Funny, my cousin was just here on a visit from Queensland. he was here 2 weeks and still didn't have enough time to see what he wanted to.

Like previously posted, it's tough to give suggestion without knowing your likes and dislikes.

I was going to say Ground Zero. I guess it's not called that anymore. I went there when it was and one of the most emotional moments of my life. I'll never forget.

Now there's a google maps moment.

You wanted to know about secret places so if you like Burgers than you have to go to The Burger Joint in Le Parker Meridian Hotel 56th Street between 6th and 7th Aves, If someone did not tell you about it you would not find it even if you were in the hotel. It is behind a black curtain next to the check in desk no signs anywhere. Also the South Street Seaport is a great place to spend the day. Many cool little museums down there as well Police Museum Holocaust Museum Tenement Museum and Bodies the exhibition.
There are many little museums scattered around that tell the history of NY which is much better than going to an art museum in my opinion. You can see art in any city but when you want to learn about the city what better place to visit than the NYC History Museum 77th St and Central Park West. Enjoy yourself and have a safe trip.

[QUOTE=Mike80911;7843463]You wanted to know about secret places so if you like Burgers than you have to go to The Burger Joint in Le Parker Meridian Hotel 56th Street between 6th and 7th Aves, If someone did not tell you about it you would not find it even if you were in the hotel. It is behind a black curtain next to the check in desk no signs anywhere.

+1 There is a line for that burger place 24/7. We got a great rate at the Le Parker Meridian hotel on Hotwire.